Hawks send a message, and an elbow
Behold, how to win a playoff game: Zaza Pachulia connects with Miami's Jermaine O'Neal in Game 5. (Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com)
They’re missing two starters. They’re playing on the road. Franchise history blows against them like a typhoon.
As a general rule, this is just this kind of backdrop that’s led the average Hawks fan to take a sledgehammer to their television before tip-off, or at least keep mind-numbing substances somewhere near the remote.
But this time, you might be safe.
“You’ve seen us all year,” Josh Smith said Thursday. “We’ve been fighting through adversity all season. We’re different now.”
Watch tonight. The Hawks have a chance to win a playoff series against Miami. They have a chance despite the fact Al Horford (ankle) and Marvin Williams (wrist) may be in street clothes. They have a chance even though history says they haven’t won a playoff series in 10 years, nor a best-of-seven series in 39.
They have a chance because, like Smith said, they are different now. They didn’t always play great in games four and five. But they won because of a toughness and resolve that at times has been missing. It’s what post-season basketball is about.
They’ve grown up.
They’ve even grown elbows.
“We don’t want that rep that we’re a soft team, that when teams get rough or physical with us that we’re going to run in the other direction,” Smith said. “We’re not built like that, and we don’t believe in going the other way. When the play turned physical in the last game, we returned the favor with hard fouls. We know we have to step it up.”
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“There’s more of a been-there, done-that kind of attitude now. They have a mental toughness. They know they have to make the next play, and they don’t look for excuses.”
This transformation clearly blindsided Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. It’s the only explanation for the man popping a spring.
Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade each cast Josh Smith’s failed attempt at a showboating, between-the-legs dribble-and-dunk in the final minutes Wednesday as some assault on the Heat’s manhood.
“Really trying to embarrass us,” Spoelstra said.
“We were very insulted by it,” Wade added.
Oh please. Now the other team needs to grow up.
For somebody to try to embarrass an opponent, they need to be calculating. Josh Smith is anything but calculating. Josh Smith just reacts, sometimes without thinking. That’s the problem. That’s why Mike Woodson’s head hurts.
The real story isn’t that Spoelstra or Wade feel disrespected. The story is that reality has hit them over the head.
The Hawks lost games two and three but they didn’t fizzle. They won in Miami to even the series. They won a physical game back home to push Miami to the ledge.
Suddenly, they’re the team that looks in control, while an opponent scrambles for a motivational tool. Suddenly, it’s safe to watch.
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190 comments Add your comment
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:11 am
just checked….. your wife?
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:12 am
Tony?
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:14 am
hey, just realized it’s game day. Any hawk fans going to game. would love to give you a big welcome. I’ll take to you to the hood and cheer loudly when you get what you deserve. Miami Style
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:17 am
either way, i’ll be here tomorrow night. Good night my little hawky friends. been a blast getting your feathers all ruffled up.
DenverHawk
May 1st, 2009
12:18 am
Heat Fan, how about a tall glass of shut-the-he&l-up? No one feels like reading your mouth dribblings anymore….
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:19 am
a new one. kind of appears as if you have been reading my words of wisdom. What the hell are you anyway. A hawk fan that takes it up the donkey butt in the rockies?
Capt. Caveman
May 1st, 2009
12:19 am
I retract my earlier comments, I bet your not even old enough to drive a car!!
Anthony
May 1st, 2009
12:21 am
My wife is in the bed next to me. Not like you with your mommy next to you. All joking aside, I’m going to bed. Heat Fan, I enjoyed the smack. All in good fun I hope. Anthony or Tony you say.
HEAT FAN'S MOM
May 1st, 2009
12:21 am
GET BACK TO YOUR ROOM SON ITS WAY TOO LATE FOR YOU TO BE UP ON THE COMPUTER. YOU’VE GOT SCHOOL TOMORROW AND MENTALLY DISABLED KIDS LIKE YOU SHOULD NOT BE UP THIS LATE.
HEAT FAN'S MOM
May 1st, 2009
12:27 am
Oh, and son.. if the Heat could rebound and defend maybe they would have won the series. You ever heard of rebounding and Defense?
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:28 am
Cap’n cavey, come on. Not old enough to drive a car yet your wife is sitting here with the biggest smile. You expect everyone here to believe that. And Heat Mom, I told you to take your medicine and go back to bed. We have a big game tonight and I need you rested for all these’s guy’s dads. See I take care of my friends, just like I’m taking care of cap’n caveyboy’s wife right now
Heat Fan
May 1st, 2009
12:28 am
Hi I am a troll. I also don’t know anything about basketball, also Michael Vick does not play for the Falcons anymore. Matt Ryan Does.
Irrelevant tipsy heat fans-HAWKS in 6!
JD
May 1st, 2009
12:29 am
Has Heat Fan really been on here all night saying the same thing with every post?
“Hawks fans are idiots!! Dwayne Wade isn’t a Prima Donna and is better than everybody in the NBA!! The Hawks don’t have any good players!”
And any credibility he had remaining scooted right away with the mom/wife insults.
Jeff – is there some kind moron filter we can put on this blog?
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:30 am
you imposter. you forgot one thing…. the ! not we know you’re a fake just like your beloved hawks. Heat in 7. Anyone interested in a mojito?
American Airlines Arena
May 1st, 2009
12:31 am
crickets the only sounds heard tonight! Heat fan are you calling that hanger intimidating, I have been to a middle school basketball game with more noise and atmosphere.
lol
JD
May 1st, 2009
12:31 am
^some kind OF moron filter^
I’ll bet Heat Fan would have a field day if I left a word out.
American Airlines Arena
May 1st, 2009
12:32 am
HEAT FAN, u need a life. You have posted about 31 times. Normal people are in bed.
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:34 am
JD – grow up. just poking a little fun at you just as much as your buddies are poking at me. You’re not going to whine about it now are you. watch it or your fellow hawk fans will start booing you. Cuidada that means becareful – just getting you in the mood for a little Miami beating tonight
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:35 am
Wade is double pits to chesty!! You dumb Hawks fans don’t even know what that means! It’s from a commercial!! It means he can beat any player on the Hawks team !! Heck, I’ll bet he can take on FIVE of the pathetic Hawks at once! Heat in 7.
JD
May 1st, 2009
12:36 am
Yeah but you’ve been doing it all night for about 6 hours, man. Get a life…
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:38 am
another new one. yippee – oh BTW i meant cuidado. sorry you know how us 6 yr olds can’t use computers. AAA i think you’ll notice a little more noise in the house tonight. crickets… funny…. is that what people usually hear after your jokes?
Najeh Davenpoop
May 1st, 2009
12:39 am
Damn… can’t wait until the Hawks win tomorrow so the Miami morons quit polluting the AJC blogs with their mind-numbing stupidity.
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:41 am
Dude, now there’s someone really posing as me. hey new guy, you really a heat fan? And JD. Kind of dumb to comment on me doing this for 6 hrs. Duh, you have been here too. You so smart
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:42 am
OMG, you have just given me so much more material. That name alone… Mr. Poop. Welcome to the best discussion on the net.
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:44 am
MIAMI HEAT – MUCHO CALIENTE
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
12:46 am
ok, i give up. good night my fair friends. let’s hope for a great game either way tonight. See ya later in the evening. I’ll be sure to visit win or lose. Take my lumps…. or….. dish them out. who knows?
hawks in 6
May 1st, 2009
12:54 am
so just checking on ajc.com to see the latest atlanta hawks headlines…i see Heat Fan! is all over this blog! Talking about Atlanta having no class and everything…then he starts going off with the mom and wife jokes. So i’m guessing THAT is showing class?? in the words of Mike Gundy “who’s the kid here??”
BarkingBulldawg
May 1st, 2009
1:08 am
Schultzie, have you watched the Hawks this season? We are Terrible on the road. All season. Terrible.
Articles like this make me wish you had followed Terrence out the door.
kevin
May 1st, 2009
1:32 am
So if this is how Heat fans act, does this mean we’re supposed to pollute Cleveland blogs and talk smack if we start falling behind in the series?
wade is b1tch
May 1st, 2009
1:33 am
lol, heat fan is just angry cause we ran them outta the buildin,i agree that wade was going for the ball on the evans dunk. at the end of the day its playoff basketball, wade crys after every possesion and everyone even heat fans i speak to are getting sick of it, he would be a awsome soccer player. he spends more time on his back than heat fans mom.
GOHAWKS
May 1st, 2009
1:36 am
Heat Fan! You can keep your cute little city in Florida. We dont want it!!!! If you are any representation of that city, which I’m assuming your not you peasant, then Miami is the classiest place on earth. Go to A Miami blog and post with your other sadly mistaken heat fans that think this is actually a series again. I love when people that are on the losing end of the stick show their a@@es. It is simply priceless!!!!
GOHAWKS
May 1st, 2009
1:47 am
Heat Fan! I forgot to mention this little tid bit of information, It took a no talent a@@clown like Will Smith to make a “rap” song about your pourous pathetic city to make you guys a big hit. Make Sure My Mom SEES THIS POST AS I’M ASSUMING SHE WILL FIND IT HYSTERICAL!!! HAHAHAHA
Robert
May 1st, 2009
2:08 am
Heat fan is a bitc7 and i bet he doesnt show his sorry a$$ on this blog after the hawks run the wades outta the building yet again!! i cant believe some people are ignorant after there team just got killed in back to back games. If you even look at stats then you will realize the hawks are dominating in almost every category. Play some defense, get a rebound, and play physical basketball. I have never in my life seen a team (the wades) fold faster then the other night. I have seen middle school girls play more physical then the heat excuse me the wades play last night. At least we a have a team where all of our starters are averaging 10 points a game and not just a one man show. Also, the hawks are missing a important starter (marvin) and joe johnson has been playing poor basketball and the wades are still getting crushed. THE WADES HAVE NO ANSWER FOR ZAZA! i mean come on dude even a heat fan can clearly see the hawks are a better team. I sick of this guy talking about sh!t from three years ago or next year! quite living in the past and future! focus on the teams from this year and the hawks are better! Heat fan even said “without wade the heat would only win 15 games” thats not saying much for your TEAM!! But the only thing that matters is 3-2!!! GO HAWKS!!!!!
Whopper Dawg
May 1st, 2009
2:14 am
Jeff,
Would you trade the entire Hawk’s roster for the Bull’s? I think I would.
Great win though, really looked better and like the toughness.
The Whopper
georgiasouthern hawk
May 1st, 2009
3:51 am
heat fans hawks are the deeper and more talented team. we have the experience from last year. if we play to our potential it will be be over friday night.
jdmesp
May 1st, 2009
7:18 am
Heat fan, before you start calling people morons, you might want to learn the difference between “your” and “you’re”.
HEAT FOR LIFE!
May 1st, 2009
7:32 am
GOOD MORNING HAWK FANS WELCOME TO DOOMS DAY! IF JSTUPID TRYS ANY CRAZY SH-T TONIGHT HE IS GOING TO BE ON HIS ASSSS!
HEAT FOR LIFE!
May 1st, 2009
7:34 am
EXPERIENCED AT WHAT SUCKING IN THE PLAYOFFS? YEAH YOU GUYS HAVE PLENTY OF THAT.
HEAT FOR LIFE!
May 1st, 2009
7:57 am
hey robert didnt your team get killed in 2 strait games too.Lets hope the HEAT win this in 7 because if not there will be abig drop off in ratings for the next round .moast people dont know that Atlanta even has an nba team.
Mac
May 1st, 2009
8:00 am
Yuck it up Heat fans. In just a few hours your season will be evaporated.
Tech sucks
May 1st, 2009
8:05 am
Miami is the biggest bunch of crybabies I’ve ever seen in the NBA. From Wade to the head coach. Give me a break. Oh waaah, he disrespected us because he tried a highlight dunk at the end of the game. Get over it. If Dwayne Wade did that, ESPN would have been touting it as one of the greatest dunks ever. There is such a ridiculous double standard in this stupid league.
Wade cries to the refs after almost every single play. Solomon Jones fouls him but not hard, and then tries to hold Wade up and Wade gets up in his face. He acts like everyone owes him something. I’ve lost all respect for that guy. They were throwing cheap shots all game long and then cry when we got physical.
I hope we beat them by 30 tonight and beat Wade down like the %^$&* he is.
Name (required)
May 1st, 2009
8:16 am
Who are the Hawks? Did we finally get a curling team? Or is this some equestrian thing? Buzkashi maybe?
Armando
May 1st, 2009
8:17 am
Hey can anybody tell the whole mess with this Hawks radio announcer and his comments? What did he say?
Armando
May 1st, 2009
8:22 am
I am from Miami and tell be honest I am not really upset about Smith’s failed dunk. I watch Hawks games and Smith would do that even when they are down 20. I am sure even the most passionate Hawks fan will admit Smith is a knucklehead. I am more upset that outside of Wade and JO no one played with any passion and the defense was more akin to Phoenix Suns. Hopefully the role players show up tonight. I am not ready to go fishing yet.
Westurd
May 1st, 2009
8:25 am
Its great how these blogs are intellectual and insightful until these dang heat fans enter the mix and bring it down to a second toilet water kind of conversation…….Diva Wades glory days have come and gone my friends.
…..NOW YOU KNOW………HAWKS IN 6
Westurd
May 1st, 2009
8:27 am
Any other HAWKS fans seeing similarities between and the Heat fans comments? They ALL talk about the past (2006) or the future (Young Team) but don’t have to much to say about whats happending now with our HAWKS taking it to em……..
bob
May 1st, 2009
8:50 am
i am suprised this “heat fan” idiot speaks english. by the way, saw your mother in atl. just gave her the $2 she charges and sent her back to the hood
JJ
May 1st, 2009
8:58 am
If the Miami Heat need a Josh Smith moment to fire them up for an elimination game, then they have more problems that they actually realize.
Josh is Josh. You deal with what comes with him. Fact is that even with all of the things that he does that make your head explode, Atlanta is not as good a team without him. When he is at his best, Atlanta is a tough out for any team in the league, including Cleveland, LA, Denver.
leggomyego
May 1st, 2009
9:01 am
Hawks – 3 Heat -2. Heat got out rebounded, out scored in the paint, and when they tried to get physical it was the Hawks who muscled them down like punks. You got beat down out there, and it was blatantly obvious. I can understand why the Heat fans are upset. D-Whine isn’t getting B.S. foul calls during the playoffs and he’s crying like he needs a diaper change. What was it last game? Back spasms… that’s right. And now it’s a head bump on a hard fall, granted, which he then returned from to drop like what, 25 or so… but still it’s being used as another in a long line of excuses that seem to be piling up for why the Heat will loose this series. When the Hawks lost to the Heat, the Hawks responded with statements like, “Sharing the ball more” and “play better defense”, the Heat respond with excuses. You don’t hear any whining coming from the Hawks bench about 2 starters out and things ‘getting too physical.’ The Hawks are acting like winners. What are the Heat acting like? Yup, you guessed it…
Heat Fan!
May 1st, 2009
9:07 am
Morning my feathered friends… What a blast last night was. Don’t have time to waste here all day but thought I’d respond to a few of my news fans:
“hawks in 6″: NO CLASS is when a fan base has no idea how to react to a game. Great to have your opinions about Wade crying all the time, etc. But your city has showed what it is really made of when you cheer the loudest when a player goes down. That’s class. And as far as my banter here, just in fun but also called “sarcasm”. guess you didn’t get it- no surprise here… By the way if you are a real NBA fan, you would’ve seen a few reports about how you’re acting on NBA Today, TNT, ESPN. CLASS BABY REAL CLASS…..
“wade is b1tch”: Hard to even respond to you. Anyone who is a Wade fan (which by the way I guarantee you Wade by himself has a 100x larger fan base than the whole joke of a city like craplanta) knows the character he exudes, what he’s made of and the mega amount of talent he has. It’s known for fact BTW, superstars have always worked the refs, even though I still don’t remotely agree he cries and whines as much as you buttholes think. Ever hear of guy named jordan? go back and watch some film of the greatest player and see how often he was in the ear of the refs…
“kevin”: Be guest my guest to post on CAVS blogs if that city as a whole disrespects your beloved hawks. And be sure to boo Lebron everytime he touches the ball. OOOPS – aren’t we ahead of ourselves kevin, don’t you still need to win to even get there. Typical bird fan, counting your eggs before they’re hatched….
“GOHAWKS”: WHAT? That’s all you get. BTW – You’re only up 1 game in a 7 game series. You’ve lost on your court and we’ve lost on ours. It aint over yet you freak!!!!
“Robert”: You’re funny. Got killed back to back? Short memory? Games 2 & 3? Your 2 “superstars” are not playing up to their potential? If you think you’re really seeing Wade at his best, you truly don’t follow the NBA. No excuses for how poorly he played in 1, but if you think you guys handled him in games 4 & 5, good luck tonight if he’s able to play 100%… Leading scorer, one of the top defenders in the league and you think he’s playing 100%… go watch some more girl’s middle school games, fool!!!
“georgiasouthern hawk “: Watch talking about having “experience” from last year. A few quirky people here hate hearing about the past
“jdmesp”: Your kidding right (oops, did it again)
“HEAT FOR LIFE!”: YOU DA MAN – SEE YOU BACK HERE TONIGHT!!!!!
Hope I didn’t leave anyone out. Let’s Go Heat…